Signments



(No Model.)

G. w. 0017. TELEPHONE STATION APPARATUS.

,912. Patentedfi'eb. 21,1882.

INVENTOR YATTORNEY N. was; Mum n nn, mum-m an .NITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

GEORGE W. OOY, OF MILFORD, OONNEGTIGUT, ASSIGNOB, BY MESNE AS- SIGNMENTS, TO THE UNITED STATES TELEPHONE MANUFACTURING COMPANY, OF NEW YORK, N. Y.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 253,912, dated February 21, 1882.

Application filed June 25. 1881. (NomodeL) To all whom it may concern Be it known that I, GEORGE W. (JOY, acitizen of the United States, residing at Milford, in the county of New Haven andState of Connecticut, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Telephone-Station Apparatns; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled'in to the art to which it appertains to make anduse the same, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, and to letters or figures of reference marked thereon, which form a part of this specification.

This invention relates to that class of telephone-station apparatus in which provision is made for preventing communications between two stations from being overheard at other stations on the same main line, this result be 23 ing accomplished by means of a kind of switch known as a secrecy-switch, and upon which my invention is an improvement The object of my invention is to provide a telephone-station apparatus with a secrecy- 25 switch which may be set for communication over a line in either direction from the station, and may be left as long as desired in either-of its two positions for communication without interrupting communication between stations 0 between which may be located a station with its switch so adjusted or left. By this arrangement I prevent communication over the main line from being interrupted by the forgetfulness of a subscriber to return his switch to a 3 5 normal position after finishingcommunication,

and I also enable a subscriber to leave his switch in that position in which he most frequently uses it, thus obviating the necessity of frequent manipulationof the switch by sub- 0 scribers who are in communication very often in one direction from their stations-as, for instance,from an express-office to a railway-depot.

In all secrecy-switches that I am aware of, constructed prior to my invention, the switch cuts the main line in such a manner that a manipulation or changing of the switch is necessary, first, to'place the station in condition for secret communication with another, and,

second, to restore the continuity of the main line after the communication is finished. By my inyention I greatly lessen the manipulation of the switch necessary by a subscriber,

this being quite an item in those cases where the direction of communication lies on a particular side of a station.

In thea-ccompanyingdrawings,Figurelillustrates a telephone-station apparatus provided with a secrecy-switch constructed according to my invention. Fig. 2 is a rear view of the switch-supporting board; and Fig. 3 is a section on line as m, Fig. 1.

The letter A designates the board or base which supports the call-bell and station-switches, the bell being indicated by the letter B.

Immediately below the bell a metallic switcharm, (J, is pivoted, at c, to the front of the base, and its free end may be swung into contact with either of two metallic plates, D or D, also attached to the front of the base-board.

The lower portion of the base-board is recessed in the rear, and to the back of the board are secured metal strips E E, which have their upper ends connected respectively with the plates D and D by metallic wires or pins passing through the board, these pins being preferably screw-threaded and permanently connected to the plates D, as shown in Fig. 3, their rear ends passing through and engaging with the strips E E and held in position by small nuts d d. The lower ends of the strips E and E extend below the upper wall of the ends of said springs will be out of contact with each other. i i

Immediately below the end of the spring F there is secured to the board a vertical guidetube, G, in which plays a red, H, the lower in the spring F and is bent laterally to catch over the upper side of said spring. The hook his to support the receiving-telephone T when said telephone is not in use, and when the hook is so weighted the rod H will be drawn down ward, depressing the spring F, taking it out of contact with the bent portion 6 of the strip E, and into contact with the spring F, forcing said spring downward and out of contact with the bent portion 0 of the strip E, as shown in dotted lines, Fig. 1, the springs being shown as separated and in contact respectively with the strips E and E in Fig. 2.

The main line entering the station is connected to a binding-post, Z, which is connected by a wire, w, with the coilsot' the bell, from which a wire, 20'', leads to the spring F, and a wire, w leads from spring F toauother bindingepost, l, to which the other station-ter1ninal of the'main line is connected.

The pivoted end of theswitchGis connected .by a wire,y, with a small binding-post, Y, to which is connected one of the wires of the receiving-telephone cord, the other wire of said cord being connected to a similar bindin g-post, Y, from which awire,z, may lead to the ground and include a transmitter in the ordinary way, if desired.

When the receiver T is on its hook, and the springs F and F are in contact with each other and out of contact with the strips E and E, the mainline circuit is completed as follows, in the direction indicated by the arrows No. l-namely: from the binding-post lover the wire to, the bell-coils, wire w, springs F and F, wire 10 binding-post l, and is thus complete through the station. Should, however, the receiving-telephone be removed from its hook and the springs F and F become separated, as shown in Fig. 2, the main circuit will be broken at the station. It will thus be seen that the springs F and F form a gravity-switch by which the main line is joined to the strips E and E, and it is by the use of this gravity-switch, in conjunction with the switch 0, that I give the latter the peculiar characteristic of being capable of being left in either of its connecting positions without detriment to the continuity of the main-line circuit.

Should the subscriber desire to communicate with a station to the left, he moves the switch 0 into contact with the metallic plate D, takes his telephone off its hook, permitting the springs F and F to rise and separate, the spring F coming in contact with the bent portion 6 of the strip E. The circuit is then completed from the main line in the direction indicated by the arrows N o. 2 from the bindingpost Z over wire 10 spring F, strip E, plate 1), switch G,wi rc 3 to post Y, thence through the receiver back to post Y, and thence to the ground through a transmitter or not, as the case may be. When the communication is finished the subscriber simply hangs his receiver on its hook, thus closing the gravity-switch and restoring the main-line circuit; but he need not take the trouble to remove the switch 0 from the plate I), as its remaining in contact I with said plate will in no wise interfere with the main-line circuit, and may, besides, save him the trouble of placing the switch in contact with the said plate for his next communication.

If communication were desired to be had to the right of the station instead of the left, the subscriber would simply swing the switch 0 into contact with the plate D, when the circuit would be formed from the post Z, wire 40,

through the belhmagnet coils over wire 10',

springF, strip E, plate D, switch 0, wire y to the receiver and thence to the ground, as before, the communication in both cases being secret, as the main circuit would run to ground atcommunicating stations, and any attempt of intermediate stations to interpose their tele-' phones would result in grounding the main circuit atsuch a station, and the original communicating subscribers would soon discoverthat they were no longer in communication.

Having now described myinvention and explained the operationthereof, whatIclaim'is'- 11. In a telephone-station apparatus, thecombination,'with the main line and a telephone branch ground-linaof a secrecy-switch and a separate telephone branch switch, the latter being capable of closing and breaking the main-line circuit independently of the former, but both'co-operating to ground the main circuit through the telephone branch line, substantially as described.

2. The secrecy-switch, consisting of a pivoted metallic switch-lever and two metallic contacts, in combination with a wire leading from said lever to a telephone branch circuit, and a separate switch arranged to break the main-line circuit and connect the two parts thereof with the contactplates of the secrecyswitch, substantially as described.

3. The combination of the metallic switchlever O, the con tact-plates D and D the springs F and F, telephone-supporting rod H, suitable projections from the said contact-plates into the paths ofsaid springs, and thc'conducting-wires, substantially as described.

In testimony whereof I affix my signature in presence of two witnesses. I

GEORGE W. (JOY. Witnesses: I

W. B. HALE, GHARLEs E. BUELL.

IIS 

